Tire cover



NOV 26, 1935- G. A. .LYON 2,022,124

TIRE COVER Filed sept. 9, 1932 'by; QT- 75- Patented Nov. 26, 1935UNITED STATES nani TIRE oovsa George Albert Lyon, Allenhurst, N. J.,assigner to Lyon Incorporated, Asbury Park, N. J., a corporation ofDelaware Application September 9, 1932, Serial No. 632,425

2 Claims.

This invention relates to covers for spare tires carried uponautomobiles, and has been taken from my application Serial No. 315,455,filed October 27, 1928, issued as Patent No. 1,875,316, September 6,1932.

The usual spare tire cover consists of a canvas casing coated with aWaterproofing material and formed to t the contour of the spare ,tireand carrier. These tire covers are unattractive in appearance and aresubject to shrinkage so that they are diilicult to apply toa tire afterhaving been in use for a relatively short time. Such casings also oftencannot be applied to a tire so that they will t the tire smoothly. Theyalso Wear out quickly and are readily torn, particularly when struck byanother car as often happens under congested traffic conditions. Theyalso do not constitute a satisfactory protection for the tire againstdamage in case of collision. The ordinary tire cover, since it is madeof a highly flexible material, not only Wrinkles readily, but, whenapplied to a tire, conforms to the projections or roughnesses on thetire so that it does not present a smooth outer surface.

The principal object of the present invention is to produce a cover forspare tires of an automobile which has a highly attractive appearance,which may be readily applied to the tire, Which is strong and durable inconstruction, which will protect the tire in a reliable manner againstWeather and damage from collision, and which will present a smooth outersurface at all times.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved spare tirecover which will readily adjust itself to slight variations in thecontour of the tire such for example as is present in the differentmakes of a given standard size of tire.

In accordance With the general features of the invention, there isprovided an expansible and contractible split tread covering ringprovided With means for positively contracting the same and Whosemargins are adapted to extend inwardly of the outermost periphery of thetire, the front margin serving as a stop to facilitate application ofthe cover. The front margin is preferably arranged so that its expansionis not interfered with by the tire. A side plate may be associated withthe ring in such a manner as to be cammed toward the tire by the ring.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will more fully appearfrom the following detail description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing which illustrate several embodiments thereof and inwhich Figure 1 is a view in front elevation illustrating one form of mycover for spare tires embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a detailed cross sectional View taken transversely throughthe tire and cover as indicated by the line II-II in Figure 1 5 Thepresent invention embodies a relatively non-flexible cover .made ofsheet material formed into the proper shape to constitute a protectivecovering for the tire. The cover, although it is relatively stiff sothat it will maintain its shape 10 without any inside support, may havesufficient resiliency to enable it to be expanded and contracted inapplying the same to and removing the same from a tire. The cover may bemade of various materials such as hard rubber, bakelite or l5 clothimpregnated with stiifening material but it is preferably formed ofsheet metal. In actual practice, a cover made of sheet metal has beenfound to give highly satisfactory results.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 20 1 and 2 the tire covercomprises a cover member 2li for the side of a tire, which may bemounted on a spare tire carrier 4, and the cover member 26 arranged tocover the periphery of the tire, both of which are preferably formed ofrelatively 25 stiff material such as sheet metal. In this constructionthe side cover member 2li is provided at its inner margin With aninturned cylindrical bead or curl indicated at 28, and its outer marginwith an outturned bead 3Q. The margin of the 30 cover member 26 whichlies adjacent the cover member 24 when the tire cover is in place, isbent inwardly so as to overlap the outer margin of the cover member 24upon the` outside thereof as shown in Figure 2, and is provided with anin- 35 turned bead 32 at its edge for engagement with the side covermember 2d. The cover member 24 is shaped in cross section to conform inshape to the side Wall of the tire thereby forming an inclined surfacewhich is engaged by the bead 32 40 on the cover member 26. The oppositemargin of the cover member 2@ is provided with an inturned bead 3i.

The cover member 26 is made in the form of a preferably resilientexpansible and contractible 45 split ring, and is contracted to hold thecover in proper tire protecting position. The contracting meanscomprises a bolt Ill adapted to extend through a pair of brackets i6 andi8 mounted on the respective ends of the split ring 25, and a 50 nut 2bto hold the parts in assembly. The opening in the bracket iii is in theform of a slot permitting disengagement of the bolt. The opening in thebracket it is a hole preferably considerably larger than the shank ofthe bolt so that the 55 bolt may be displaced from the position shown toa position wherein the head of the bolt is disengaged irom the slottedbracket I8, when the nut 20 is backed away. The bracket I8 is so formedas to provide a concave surface engageable with the bolt head to preventaccidental disengagement of the head therefrom. The other bracket I6 issimilarly formed for engagement with the wing nut 20 to permit angularmovement therebetween.

When the cover has been applied to the tire, with the head of the boltout of engagement with bracket I8 and the nut 20 backed away to provideclearance, the bolt is swung into the slot in the bracket I8. Then thenut is tightened, forcing the bolt head into engagement with the concavesurface of the bracket, and contracting the split ring into propercovering relation to the tire and cooperation with the side plate 24.

, As pointed out hereinabove the illustrated embodiment of the inventionincludes a split cover ring with inwardly extending marginal portions,the front portion extending inwardly to a further extent than the rearportion of the cover ring. The latter portion merely overhangs therear'side of the tread of the tire to an extent sufficient to enable thering to hold itself on the tire against lateral displacement and yet atthe same time permit of the ready application of the split ring to thetire.

Now it is of course to be understood that although I have illustratedand described in detail an embodiment of the invention, the invention isnot to be thus limited but only insofar as denned by the scope andspirit of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a tire cover, an eXpansible and contractible sheet metal ringhaving a rear margin capable of assuming a sumciently large diameter topass across the outer periphery of the tire tread as the cover isapplied and removed to enable the cover to be applied from and removedtoward the front side of the tire, and of thereafter assuming a smallerdiameter to overhang the tread at the rear thereof, the front marginbeing of less diameter than the tire tread when the rear margin ispassed across the tread to provide a stop facilitating application ofthe cover to the tire and cooperate with the rear margin in holding thecover on the tire, an annular side plate for covering the front sidewall of the tire and having a circular surface concentric with saidplate and engageable with the front margin of the ring upon contractionof the ring, said surface affording an abutment in the direction ofcontraction of the front margin and being inclined, whereby engagementof said surface with said front margin results in a camming of the platetowards the tire and a centering of the plate relative to the ring. Y

2. In a tire cover, an expansible and contractible sheet metal ringhaving a rear margin capable of assuming a sufficiently large diameterto pass across the outer periphery of the tire tread as the cover isapplied and removed to enable the cover to be applied from and removedtoward the front side of the tire, and of thereafter assuming a smallerdiameter to overhang the tread at the rear thereof, the front marginbeing of less diameter than the tire tread when the rear margin ispassed across the tread so as to extend inwardly along the outer sidewall of the tire and thus to provide a stop facilitating application ofthe cover to the tire and to cooperate with the rear margin in holdingthe cover on the tire, and means for positively holding said ring incontracted condition, said front margin terminating clear of the cavitybounded by the inwardly facing part of the front wall of the tire sothat said part will not interfere with expansion of said rlng.

GEORGE ALBERT LYON.

